In Athens And L.A., Classic Mid-Century Hotels Celebrate Resurgence

Opened in the 1960s, the historic Athens Hilton and Los Angeles Century Plaza hotels have both undergone major multi-million euro and pandemic-lengthened renovations. Reopening as the Conrad Athens The Ilisian and the Fairmont Century Plaza, each property kept its classic curved steel and concrete exterior while reducing room counts to create larger suites and add private residences. The Conrad Athens preserved artist Yannis Moralis's monumental bas-relief and features nine dining concepts, an expansive pool, and the House of NYNN club. The Fairmont Century Plaza features 400 guest rooms, the Birdie G's restaurant, and a vibrant lobby bar celebrating its musical history. Both transformed hotels blend modern luxury amenities with their storied pasts.

Two of the world's most classic hotels arrived in the mid-1960's. This fall, both the remodeled Conrad Athens The Ilisian and the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles are celebrating resurgence and rebirth.

Both hotels were born in the 1960's. Recently re-opened as the Conrad, the Athens Hilton first opened in April,1963. The Fairmont Century Plaza arrived in Los Angeles in June 1966. Each hotel had good bones, which were the basis of their recent renovations.

The Athens Hilton always gave off an aura of international romance and intrigue. The Century Plaza, built on a former 20th Century Fox studio lot in Los Angeles, was Hollywood all the way.

Each hotel went through a lengthy process of renovation, updating the interior while keeping their "good bones," their classic curved steel and concrete exterior. And rather than build more towers and adding more rooms, both hotels have reduced the room number and added more suites.

The Conrad Athens The Ilisian may still be known as the Athens Hilton for a while, but it is fundamentally a different hotel. As a hotel marketing executive put it, "Older people will always call it the Hilton. Younger people don't remember." The Athens Hilton closed on January 31, 2022, after nearly six decades. Following a more than 275-million-euro transformation, it reopened on April 23, 2026, as Conrad Athens The Ilisian.

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Hilton is expanding in Greece, going from one property a few years ago to more than 50, including an SLH partnership on Crete.

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The original Athens Hilton had 506 rooms, including 34 suites. The new Conrad Athens offers 278 rooms and suites. It also has 55 homeowner units, nine dining concepts, and the House of NYNN members' club. The private residences, operated under the Conrad and Waldorf Astoria names, are currently sold out.

With the renovation and upgrade to Conrad status, the hotel now boasts some of the largest guest rooms in Athens. The rooms and suites offer natural light and curated artworks, along with private balconies that overlook the city, the Parthenon, or the sea.

According to a hotel spokesperson, "the majority of the business of Conrad Athens is American." However, the operators are also looking to the Athenian market, with the homeowner units and the plush private club, House of NYNN, for local movers and shakers.

The Conrad Athens caters to its guests, such as hosting many international basketball teams. If you happen to be of unusual height, whether you play basketball or not, the Conrad will put an extension at the end of your bed.

During the renovation, the Conrad Athens preserved a monumental 620 square meter bas relief designed by visual artist Yannis Moralis. Carved into large slabs of marble, the linear, incised composition is an abstract tribute to Greek mythology and Athenian culture.

Symbols woven into the relief include the Goddess Athena, representing Athens namesake and protector, and a ship and a horse, symbolizing journeys of travel and exploration. A third representation is of an altar with offerings and flute players, symbolizing a return to the city, celebration, and hospitality. The sculpture has now been fitted with special night-lighting designed by Emmy Award-winning lighting designer Eleftheria Deko.

The hotel also preserved and updated its iconic outdoor pool, one of the largest in Athens.

The hotel has been the site of romantic occasions and engagements for locals and tourists alike. A lobby flower shop, the Secret Garden, offers flowers for such special occasions.

When the rooftop Galaxy Bar opens in 2027, a hotel marketer promises that the panoramic views will make a young man squiring his date "feel like Zeus" overlooking the Parthenon. In the 1960's and 1970's, the bar served as a backdrop where foreign diplomats, journalists, spies of various nations and glamorous locals could mingle.

The rooftop bar will join the main floor Athenian Lounge with its circular bar and elegant chandeliers that an executive described as "like entering Mad Men." The "oasis in downtown Athens" theme will expand in early 2027, with a 7,500-square-foot green roof ringed by an 800-yard running track where an executive said, "you can run safely at 4AM."

Already open is Athens' largest outdoor pool and The House of NYNN club. With 3000 local members, House of NYNN already has a waiting list. An Analogue Lounge at the comfortable club, with a couch, tube amplifiers, and a turntable to play a record collection from the 1960's to now.

Of course, the Conrad is up to date with its spa, gym and even a "Gyrotonic Studio, a three-dimensional, whole-body movement system. The space also includes dedicated studios for yoga, Pilates, and spinning, a heated indoor pool, and heat and cold therapy facilities such as saunas and cold plunges.

The original hotel was one of the first Hiltons to venture into Europe. It had something of an East-meets-West Cold War spy thriller atmosphere to it, as did its contemporary, the Istanbul Hilton.

Founder Conrad Hilton himself was at the grand opening of the Athens Hilton on April 21, 1963, declaring it with typical showmanship "the most beautiful Hilton in the world." When it opened, the hotel was seen as not just a luxurious retreat, but as a geopolitical statement. Conrad Hilton, who opened his first hotel in 1919, reportedly viewed his international hotels as "Cold War secret weapons" and "showcases of capitalism" on the borders of the Soviet bloc.

The famed spy novelist John LeCarre reportedly stayed at the Athen's Hilton under an assumed name, soaking up the "East-meets-West" Greek espionage aesthetic ambiance to create what would be a classic book, movie and television series, The Little Drummer Girl, about an international intelligence operation that begins in 1970's Greece.

The mid-century furniture has been removed from the guest rooms of the Conrad Athens, but it has not left the building. Instead, it has re-appeared in the lobby, offering comfort and a glimpse into the hotel's history, when Frank Sinatra showed up to help Conrad Hilton launch the hotel.

Royalty, Hollywood icons such as Anthony Quinn, Ingmar Bergman, and Sinatra, as well as shipping titans like Aristotle Onassis stayed at the hotel. It was also International Olympic Committee Headquarters for the 2004 Summer Games.

The Conrad Athens is on a main thoroughfare, Vassilissis Sofias Avenue , in walking distance of many of Athens' major attractions. Today, the street is busy, but once inside, the hotel is whisper quiet. The old Hilton was also down the street from the U.S. Embassy, making it the premier neutral ground for embassy staff, intelligence assets, and visiting foreign dignitaries.

The Century Plaza in Los Angeles was perhaps not as well known to the CIA, but the Secret Service certainly visited.

President and Mrs. Richard Nixon held the famous Astronauts Dinner at the Century Plaza on August 13, 1969, to honor Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins who had just landed on the moon.

They were joined for Supreme of Salmon and Filet of Beef Perigourdine by 50 members of Congress and representatives from 83 foreign nations, who washed down their meals with Wente Brothers Pinot Chardonnay and Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon. Event decorations included 160 miniature moon rockets made of sugar, one for each table.

In 1974, President Gerald Ford and Presidential challenger and later President Ronald Reagan met in a dark and moody moment in a room at the Century Plaza.

In more recent times, the Century Plaza has successfully navigated a long re-opening process lengthened by the COVID-19 pandemic, and hosted many families and their pets displaced by the 2025 Los Angeles fires.

Like the Conrad, the Century Plaza renovation cut the number of rooms but made them larger. When the original Century Plaza hotel opened in 1966, it had 750 guest rooms. Following a major renovation and reopening as the Fairmont Century Plaza, it now features 400 guest rooms including 85 suites, alongside 63 privately-owned residential units.

The Century Plaza like the Conrad Athens has an expansive gym, spa, and devotion to luxury and style as seen in its lobby bar. The popular Birdie G's from James Beard-nominated Chef Jeremy Fox was just added to the hotel's mix. The restaurant, whose motto is "Comfort and Cocktails," is an American Brasserie serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

On October 1st I joined hundreds of other guests to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Century Plaza at the modestly-named Party of the Century.

The 60th celebration took take place in the lobby bar, with the venue's vibrant colors and vintage decor transporting guests in cocktail attire back to a glamorous era. There was a band and singer honoring 1960's through 2000's stars like Sonny & Cher, Elton John, Dionne Warwick, Chubby Checker, Paul McCartney & Brian Wilson, and Mariah Carey who performed at the hotel. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Supremes all stayed at the hotel, with former guests David Bowie and Amy Winehouse honored in the Century Plaza Bar Menu.

The Ford Thunderbird that starred in THELMA AND LOUISE even made a cameo appearance. (The Century Plaza has another vintage Ford, a Lincoln convertible, to pick up guests.)

Like the Conrad Athens, the Fairmont Century Plaza has modernized its offerings and guestrooms, but kept its iconic facade. With a facelift and a nod to the past and the present, the Conrad Athens and the Fairmont Century Plaza are bringing hotel glamour to a new generation.